My eyes started trembling through the room, trying to grab something that would distract me. They lingered on Jiyong a little longer, grasping the shocked look he wore like a mask on his face. But he caught himself just a second later, holding my gaze and pulled one corner of his mouth up into his famous, crooked smile.

Then he cleared his throat, turning everyone's attention on him.

“I think you have an exceptionally special and talented daughter.” His voice rang through the whole room, cutting the tension into shreds. “I would actually like to have her as your company's representative in my company, since she knows about business and the entertainment industry, which I am working in.”

I clenched my hands into tight fists, grabbing the soft fabric of my dress' skirt in between my fingers. Except from Junmyeon or Hye, I have never heard such nice words about myself. And I barely even knew him.

My mother's face darted in my direction, but I was too focused on Jiyong to notice. Soon, she looked at him as well, lightly patting Jiyong's hand, that was placed on the table next to his wine glass.

“Dear, she doesn't know a thing. She's still young and very inexperienced.”

Jiyong smiled a bright smile and let his gaze wander from my mother to my father, on to Junmyeon and to me. I was afraid that the apples of his cheeks would soon burst, his smile was that wide.

“Junmyeon-ssi, what do you think?” he asked my brother, and just for a split second, both their eyes lit up.

“I think it's a great idea, since I want (Y/N) at my side anyway” Junmyeon beamed.

Under the table, he lightly touched my still clenched fist and opened my fingers as he smiled at me.

Just in that moment, the doors flung open and Ye Eun arrived with the food, serving lots of plates with different dishes. Then she took the bottle of wine, Junmyeon had chosen, and poured everyone a glass. When she was done, she quietly dissolved into the kitchen again, leaving the dining room in an awkward silence.

In the end, my father raised his glass, and everyone did the same. He looked like he was choosing his words wisely before speaking, so when he did, you could've probably heard a needle fall.

“To everyone's health, to success and to a new business partnership. I wish you all the best” he said in a deep voice. “Geonbae.”

Everyone repeated him and we sipped from our glasses.

The sweet taste hit my tongue and I was surprised that my brother had chosen a tasty wine like this. Setting my glass down again, I noticed Jiyong eyeing me from over the edge of his glass, a smirk distorting his features.

He mouthed “Cheers!” into my direction and I bit my cheek before raising the glass to my lips again, letting the sweetness linger in my mouth before swallowing it.

~

I spent most of the dinner just listening. My mother was right that I was inexperienced – I only knew one or two things about economy and business. But I liked hearing Jiyong talk. I notice that sometimes, he had a weird way of pronouncing certain words, and when he was embarrassed, he hid it behind a bright smile. Every now and then our eyes would meet and I felt my face flush. I set my gazeon my hands, that were fumbling in my lap from nervousness.

Though, when I looked back up, he was still eyeing me – an undefinable expression in his eyes.

I excused myself from the table to go to the bathroom. Not feeling my mother's icy stare on me felt good. I exhaled deeply as I dragged my tired feet upstairs. Family dinners were always really tiring. In my room, I closed the door behind me and leaned against it, closing my eyes and shutting out the world around me. I concentrated on my steady breathing – inhale, exhale.

In the bathroom, I checked my make-up and noticed that a light shade of pink was still lingering on my cheeks. I shrugged to myself and simply re-applied lipstick, before returning back into my room.

I wasn't really surprised when I saw a familiar person leaning against the wall next to my door.

“You know, this is still not a bathroom” I stated casually, though noticing that my heart jumped at the sight of him.

He looked amazing in his black suit. I started wondering what he would look like in his everyday clothes, not dressed up and not in his business mode.

“I know” he said, smiling lightly. “I actually just wanted to check on you.”

All my facial features dropped at his words and my jaw hung open. I blinked a few times, before catching myself again.

“Uh, what? Why?” I stuttered.

Jiyong sighed and pushed himself off of the wall, slowly making his way towards me.

“Because I heard what your parents said. And because I saw your face when they did.”

It weren't the most special words in the world, but it was enough for me to go speechless. My mouth hung open and I couldn't find anything to reply.

“I, uh...I...”

He shook his head, leaned forward a little and just grinned cheekily.

“Are you free tonight?” he sudden